The Stockton City Council unanimously adopted a long-term traffic safety plan Tuesday as city leaders raised concerns about a sharp increase in roadway deaths, dangerous driving and the financial challenges of making Stockton’s streets safer.
The council voted 6-0 to approve the city’s first Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to cut traffic deaths and serious injuries in half by 2040 and eliminate them by 2050. Councilmember Mariela Ponce was absent.
The decision follows an analysis of 466 crashes that killed or seriously injured people on Stockton roads between 2018 and 2022. City officials identified five particularly dangerous corridors — March Lane, Harding Way, Hazelton Avenue, Wilson Way and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard — as priorities for future safety improvements.
But the council’s discussion also highlighted the urgency of addressing traffic violence as fatalities continue to mount.
Mayor Christina Fugazi said Stockton’s traffic fatalities have doubled compared with the previous year, reversing an earlier decline that city officials had celebrated.
“I know that some of those could have easily been avoided,” Fugazi said.
She pointed to a recent fatal collision near South Lincoln and Worth streets involving a 57-year-old man and described her own experience nearly being struck by a driver who failed to stop at a pedestrian crossing.
“There’s just too many, just too many,” Fugazi said. “So whatever we can do to slow people down.”
Five corridors identified for improvements
The plan, developed by city staff and transportation consulting firm Fehr & Peers, identifies roadway design changes that could reduce the likelihood and severity of collisions.
Kari McNickle, a senior associate with Fehr & Peers, told councilmembers that pedestrians and bicyclists face a disproportionate share of Stockton’s most serious crashes.
Although crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists account for approximately 16% of all collisions, those road users represent about half of the city’s traffic fatalities, according to the analysis.
The five priority corridors account for nearly one-quarter of crashes resulting in death or serious injury despite representing approximately 2% of Stockton’s roadway network.
Potential improvements include additional crosswalks, redesigned intersections, better lighting, traffic signals and changes to roadway configurations intended to reduce vehicle speeds.
McNickle emphasized that the plan seeks to address the physical conditions that contribute to crashes rather than relying exclusively on drivers to follow traffic laws.
“We can set the speed limits all we want, and that’s an important part of it,” McNickle said. “But if that road is big and wide, I’m still going to drive fast, even knowing what I know.”
Funding remains an obstacle
Although councilmembers supported the plan’s objectives, several questioned how Stockton would pay for the proposed improvements.
Deputy Public Works Director and City Engineer Eric Alvarez explained that the approximately $646,000 in federal Safe Streets for All funding discussed during the meeting supported development of the plan, not construction.
The city must now pursue additional grants and other funding sources before moving forward with specific projects.
“Right now it’s just a plan that identifies five corridors,” Alvarez said. “And then our job moving forward is to go find some money.”
Councilmember Michele Padilla questioned whether the city had updated collision data for 2023 through 2026 and urged staff to ensure that the newly adopted strategy produces tangible results.
“I just hope the plan just doesn’t sit on a shelf somewhere,” Padilla said.
Alvarez said the city would update its analysis as more information becomes available and could use the plan to support applications for transportation funding.
Other councilmembers questioned how future roadway redesigns could affect businesses that depend on commercial truck traffic.
Public Works officials emphasized that the recommendations remain conceptual. Any specific construction proposal would require additional planning and outreach to affected businesses and residents.
Council revisits red-light cameras
The discussion also renewed interest in installing red-light cameras as another tool to discourage dangerous driving.
Councilmember Mario Enríquez said drivers routinely ignore traffic signals and questioned how soon the city could implement additional enforcement measures.
He also requested more information about upcoming traffic safety projects so councilmembers could notify residents and encourage public participation.
Fugazi expressed support for stronger enforcement, including cameras that could penalize motorists who run red lights.
City officials confirmed that Stockton is separately exploring a red-light camera program.
After councilmembers requested additional information about the technology’s effectiveness and potential drawbacks, the city manager said staff would proceed with a request-for-proposals process and return with a presentation.
The council did not approve a red-light camera contract Tuesday.
Residents who addressed the council also called for stronger traffic enforcement.
Aaron Morini questioned whether cameras would meaningfully deter dangerous drivers and argued that Stockton needs more officers patrolling its streets.
Dan Richardson described speeding along Pershing Avenue as a persistent safety problem and urged officials to consider roadway changes that would physically encourage motorists to slow down.
Despite questions about financing, enforcement and outreach, councilmembers ultimately supported the Vision Zero plan.
Its adoption establishes Stockton’s long-term traffic safety goals, but the city will still need to secure funding, develop individual projects and measure their effectiveness before residents see many of the proposed changes on local streets.